From Confucian Archetype to Neoliberal Resemantization: The Resurgence of the Ideal “Good Wife and Wise Mother” (Xiánqī Liángmǔ) in Contemporary China

This article traces the historical evolution and contemporary resemantization of the Virtuous Wife and Good Mother (xianqi liangmu 贤妻良母) ideal in China, from its origins as a Confucian archetype to its neoliberal resurgence under Xi Jinping. Ideologically rooted in Confucian texts such as the Book of Rites (Li Ji 礼记), the xianqi liangmu (XQLM) model has long functioned as a patriarchal mechanism confining women to the domestic (nei) sphere. Rejected as ‘feudal’ during the Maoist period, the ideal has since been revived and adapted to align with contemporary state policy and market imperatives. This study examines the nexus between the neoliberal resemantization of XQLM and traditional ethics, showing how it reasserts moral and structural constraints on women’s agency in private, professional, and familial domains. The article considers counter-discourses and emerging feminist subjectivities in art, literature, and activism — both within and beyond China — as sites of resistance against this coercive revival. The aim of this analysis is to bring to the foreground the discursive structures and traditional gender categories that, across centuries, have constrained women’s identity and agency, inscribing them within the boundaries of Chinese patriarchal tradition, leading to the formulaic expression of XQLM to its contemporary interpretations.